Tesla Model S Reviewed By Consumer Reports As ‘Top Scoring Car’ In 100-Point Rating Test
July 24, 2013 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
Tesla Model S. Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors.
In its latest review of nearly 300 vehicles, Consumer Reports rated the all-electric Tesla Model S as the “top scoring car” with a rating of 99 out of 100 points.
To give you an overview, the Model S is a large luxury hatchback which seats five or seven if you include the rear-facing jump seats for kids up to 10 years old.
The sedan can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds, and is equipped with an 85 kilowatt-hour battery which can allow the vehicle to “travel between 180 and 225 miles per charge, depending on the outside temperature,” said Consumer Reports.
Tesla said the Model S can plug into most 240-volt outlets, standard 120-volt wall outlets, and public stations.
Consumer Reports found that “with Tesla’s optional High Power Wall Connector, its takes about five hours to charge. On a standard 240-volt electric car charger, it would take about 12 hours,” with Tesla adding that a 50 percent charge could be achieved in as little as 30 minutes at Tesla Supercharge station.”
Tesla also takes a sleek modern approach to its fueling system, by having the fuel door hidden. The company explains that as you approach the driver’s side taillight, holding a connector, you press the button and a triangle opens to reveal the small charge port. Another great feature of the Model S is its regenerative brakes.
For overall performance, Consumer Reports said that, “In all, the Model S worked better than we expected, especially being the first homegrown model from a brand-new car company. The Tesla Model S fell short of a perfect score in our testing for one simple reason. You can’t jump in any time you want, and drive to absolutely any point on the map at a moment’s notice.”
The company is working to address these issues by increasing its number of Supercharge stations that are exclusively for Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports added that “unfortunately, they will not charge other EVs. The connector is unique to Tesla and, well, Tesla foots the bill for the juice, which mostly justifies this proprietary arrangement.”